Nitride semiconductor light-emitting device having high light efficiency and method of manfacturing the same

ABSTRACT

Provided is a nitride semiconductor light emitting diode and a method of manufacturing the same. The method includes sequentially forming a first semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second semiconductor layer on a substrate, in-situ depositing a mask layer on a region of the surface of the second semiconductor layer, and selectively growing a third semiconductor layer formed in a textured structure on the second semiconductor layer by depositing a semiconductor material on the second semiconductor layer and the mask layer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

Priority is claimed to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0114343, filed on Dec. 28, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor light emitting device, and more particularly, to a nitride semiconductor light emitting device that improves light extraction efficiency using a textured structure formed in-situ on a semiconductor layer of a nitride semiconductor structure, and a method of manufacturing the same.

2. Description of the Related Art

A light emitting diode (LED) is a device used for converting electrical energy to infra red rays, visible light, or other light using the characteristics of a compound semiconductor. The transformation of the electrical energy into optical energy can be divided into heat radiation and luminescence. The luminescence includes photoluminescence according to excitation by light, cathode luminescence generated by scanning X-rays or an electron beam, and electroluminescence (EL). Here, the light emitting diode is a kind of EL device, and presently, the most widely used light emitting diodes employ an III-V group compound semiconductor.

The III-V group compound semiconductor is a direct transition semiconductor, and is widely used for the LED or a laser diode (LD) since it provides stable operation at a higher temperature than other semiconductors. The III-V group compound semiconductor is typically formed on a substrate formed of sapphire Al₂O₃ or SiC. To improve the light emission efficiency, or light extraction efficiency, a variety of LED structures have been studied. One of these is a textured structure on a semiconductor layer on an upper part of an active layer of the LED.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic drawings illustrating light paths at an interface of material layers having different refractive indexes. In FIG. 1A, the material layer has a flat interface, and in FIG. 1B, the material layer has a textured structure interface.

Referring to FIG. 1A, light passing from a first material layer 11 having a greater refractive index into an air layer 12 having a smaller refractive index (n=1) must enter a flat interface 13 a at at least a predetermined angle. If the light enters at a smaller angle, the light is totally internally reflected at the flat interface 13 a, resulting in the reduction of the light extraction efficiency. To avoid the total internal reflection of light, a method of using a non-flat interface has been attempted.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a non-flat interface, i.e. a textured structure interface 13 b, is formed between the first material layer 11 and the air layer 12. Accordingly, the light has an angle of incidence greater than the predetermined angle at the textured structure interface 13 b where the light passes from the first material layer 11 into the air layer 12. Thus, the extraction efficiency of light can be improved.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a conventional LED having the textured structure as described above. A p-electrode 22, a p-GaN layer 23, an InGaN active layer 24, an n-GaN layer 25, and an n-electrode 26 are sequentially formed on a lower structure 21. Here, the textured structure 27 is formed on the surface of the n-GaN layer 25. The textured structure 27 is formed to control the incidence angle for best extraction of light generated by the active layer 24 into the air layer through the n-GaN layer 25, since GaN has a greater refractive index (n=2.5) than the air layer (n=1). FIG. 2B is a SEM image of the textured structure 27, which is formed of a material such as H₃PO₄ by wet etching.

However, in the conventional art, to form the textured structure 27, a chemical etching process must be additionally performed after a process for forming a semiconductor LED. Therefore, the manufacturing process is complicated, and productivity is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting diode having a textured structure for improving light extraction efficiency, wherein a process for manufacturing the semiconductor light emitting diode and a process for forming the textured structure are performed in-situ.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting diode, comprising: sequentially forming a first semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second semiconductor layer on a substrate; in-situ depositing a mask layer on a region of the surface of the second semiconductor layer; and selectively growing a third semiconductor layer formed in a textured structure on the second semiconductor layer by depositing a semiconductor material on the second semiconductor layer and the mask layer.

The in-situ depositing of a mask layer on a region of the surface of the second semiconductor layer may comprise forming the mask layer by adding a Si source and an N source to the second semiconductor layer.

The Si source may comprise at least one of silicon source such as triethylsilane(TESi), tributhy silane(TBSi), ditertiarybuthysilane(DTBSI) or silicon hydride sources such as silane(SiH₄), disilane(Si₂H₆), TESi, TBSi, SiH₄, or Si₂H₆.

The N source may be NH₃.

The first semiconductor layer may be formed of an n-type semiconductor material, and the second semiconductor layer may be formed of a p-type semiconductor material.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor light emitting diode having a first semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second semiconductor layer, comprising: a mask layer formed on the second semiconductor layer; and a third semiconductor layer formed in a textured structure on a surface of the second semiconductor layer on which the mask layer is not formed.

The mask layer may be formed of a material that includes Si_(x)N_(y).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic drawing illustrating the extraction of light at a flat interface of material layers having different refractive indexes;

FIG. 1B is a schematic drawing illustrating the extraction of light at a textured structure interface of material layers having different refractive indexes;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a conventional nitride semiconductor LED having a textured structure;

FIG. 2B is a SEM image of the textured structure;

FIG. 3A is cross-sectional view of a nitride semiconductor LED according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the nitride semiconductor LED for improving light extraction efficiency;

FIGS. 4A through 4C are cross-sectional views for explaining a method of manufacturing a nitride semiconductor LED according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4D is a SEM image of a textured structure manufactured by the process for forming the nitride semiconductor LED of FIGS. 4A through 4C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.

FIG. 3A is cross-sectional view of a nitride semiconductor LED according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the nitride semiconductor LED for improving light extraction efficiency. Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a first semiconductor layer 31, an active layer 32, and a second semiconductor layer 33 are sequentially formed on a substrate 30. A mask layer 34 is formed on a region of the second semiconductor layer 33. A third semiconductor layer 35 is formed on a region of the second semiconductor layer 33 in which the mask layer 34 is not formed. Also, a transparent electrode 36 is formed on the third semiconductor layer 35, and a first electrode is formed on the transparent electrode 36. A second electrode 38 is formed on the first semiconductor layer 31 on which the active layer 32 is not formed.

Here, if the first semiconductor layer 31 is formed of a p-type semiconductor material, the second semiconductor layer 33 and the third semiconductor layer 35 are formed of an n-type semiconductor material. Also, if the first semiconductor layer 31 is formed of an n-type semiconductor material, the second semiconductor layer 33 and the third semiconductor layer 35 are formed of a p-type semiconductor material. The first semiconductor layer 31, the active layer 32, the second semiconductor layer 33, and the third semiconductor layer 35 may all be formed of a nitride semiconductor material. The mask layer 34 is formed of nitride silicon having a chemical formula Si_(x)N_(y).

The third semiconductor layer 35 is formed on the second semiconductor layer 33 on which the mask layer 34 is not formed, and has a textured structure. In the case of the nitride semiconductor LED according to the present embodiment, the textured structure of the third semiconductor layer 35 can be formed by incorporating the mask layer 34, and can increase the extraction efficiency of light generated by the active layer of the semiconductor LED.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing a nitride semiconductor LED that can increase the light extraction efficiency according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4A through 4C.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a first semiconductor layer 31, an active layer 32, and a second semiconductor layer 33 are sequentially formed on a substrate 30. This structure can be formed using a conventional semiconductor manufacturing process, such as metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In the MOCVD apparatus, on a substrate formed of GaSa, sapphire (Al₂O₃), SiC, or Si, n-GaN is deposited as the first semiconductor layer 31, InGaN is deposited as the active layer 32, and p-GaN is epitaxy deposited as the second semiconductor layer 33.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a mask layer 34 is formed on the second semiconductor layer 33. At this time, the mask layer 34 is not formed on the entire surface of the second semiconductor layer 33, but is formed in a region of the second semiconductor layer 33 in an island structure. The mask layer 34 is used as a device for forming the semiconductor LED of FIG. 4A, and is preferably formed of Si_(x)N_(y). The mask layer 34 will now be described in detail.

After the second semiconductor layer 33 is formed in a reaction chamber of the MOCVD apparatus, raw materials of Si and N are added. For example, the raw material of Si can be silicon source such as triethylsilane (TESi), tributhy silane (TBSi), ditertiarybuthysilane (DTBSI) or silicon hydride sources such as silane (SiH₄), disilane (Si₂H₆). The raw material of N can be NH₃ (ammonia). When Si and N are added to the reaction chamber of the MOCVD apparatus, SiN_(x) is produced. Here, the Si_(x)N_(y) mask layer 34 is controlled to be formed in an island structure on regions of the second semiconductor layer 33 by controlling the amount of Si and N added to the reaction chamber of the MOCVD apparatus. The mask layer 34 is formed to a thickness in the range of from a few monolayers to 100 nm, which is very thin compared to the second semiconductor layer 33. Consequently, the mask layer 34 is formed in an island structure on the second semiconductor layer 33, and the second semiconductor layer is exposed in the regions where the mask layer 34 is not formed. In other words, in the in-situ depositing of the mask layer, openings having irregular sizes and periods are formed in the mask layer, as described in FIG. 4D.

Referring to FIG. 4C, a third semiconductor layer 35 is deposited on the second semiconductor layer 33. Here, the third semiconductor layer 35 can be formed of the same material as the second semiconductor layer 33. For example, both the second semiconductor layer 33 and the third semiconductor layer 35 can be formed of p-GaN.

The third semiconductor layer 35 is only grown epitaxially on the second semiconductor layer 33, not on the mask layer 34. That is, the third semiconductor layer 35 grows in a preferential growth surface direction. As a result, as depicted in FIG. 4C, the third semiconductor layer 35 grows only on the second semiconductor layer 33, and not on the mask layer 34. Consequently, the third semiconductor layer 35 can be grown with a textured structure. The epitaxial growth preferentially progresses upward from the surface of the second semiconductor layer 33, and then progresses laterally above the mask layer 34. The manufacturing of a semiconductor LED can be completed when a transparent electrode 37 is formed on the third semiconductor layer 35.

The textured structure shown in FIG. 4C corresponds to the conventional textured structure shown in FIG. 2, and improves the extraction efficiency of light generated by the active layer. In the method of manufacturing the semiconductor LED with improved light extraction efficiency according to the present invention, the textured structure can be readily formed in one process apparatus without an additional etching process, by forming the Si_(x)N_(y) mask layer 34 on a region of the second semiconductor layer 33. Therefore, the light generated by the active layer can be extracted to the outside through the transparent electrode.

FIG. 4D is a SEM image of a textured structure manufactured by the process for forming the nitride semiconductor LED of FIGS. 4A through 4C. Referring to FIG. 4D, the third semiconductor layer 35 is formed on the second semiconductor layer 33, and the mask layer 34 is formed on the second semiconductor layer 33.

According to the present invention, a semiconductor LED having a textured structure can be manufactured in one manufacturing apparatus by combining a process for manufacturing a semiconductor device epitaxial growth and a process for manufacturing the textured structure on a semiconductor layer, instead of a conventional method in which the process for manufacturing the semiconductor device epitaxial growth and the process for manufacturing the textured structure are separately performed.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. 

1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting diode, comprising operations of: sequentially forming a first semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second semiconductor layer on a substrate; in-situ depositing a mask layer on a region of a surface of the second semiconductor layer; selectively growing a third semiconductor layer in a textured structure on the second semiconductor layer by depositing the same material as that of the second semiconductor layer on the second semiconductor layer and the mask layer; and forming a transparent electrode on the third semiconductor, wherein in the in-situ depositing of the mask layer, openings having irregular sizes and periods are formed in the mask layer, without etching, the first semiconductor layer is formed of an n-type semiconductor material and the second semiconductor layer is formed of a p-type semiconductor material, the third semiconductor layer in the textured structure is formed through the openings, the transparent electrode is formed to have a textured structure having a shape which corresponds to that of the textured structure of the third semiconductor layer, and light generated by the active layer is extracted to the outside through the transparent electrode.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the in-situ depositing of a mask layer on a region of the surface of the second semiconductor layer comprises forming the mask layer by adding a silicon (Si) source and a nitrogen (N) source to the second semiconductor layer.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the silicon Si source comprises at least one of silicon source selected from the group consisting of triethylsilane (TESi), tributhy silane (TBSi), ditertiarybuthysilane (DTBSI), silane (SiH₄) and disilane (Si₂H₆).
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the nitrogen (N) source is NH₃.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the operations in claim 1 are performed by MOCVD (metalorganic chemical vapor deposition) or MBE (molecular beam epitaxy). 